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Now And Then Genius Carries All Before It, But Not Often. We Have To Climb Slowly, With Many Slips And Falls.
-Louisa May Alcott
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Now And Then Genius

Louisa May Alcott
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Now And Then Genius Carries All Before It, But Not Often. We Have To Climb Slowly, With Many Slips And Falls.

Understanding the Quote: "now and then genius carries all before it, but not often. we..."

This quote by Louisa May Alcott reflects deeply on the theme of fall. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Fall, Genius, Now And Then, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Louisa May Alcott interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott is celebrated for insightful thoughts on fall and genius. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

Views: 33360
Topic
Fall
Genius
Now And Then
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Love And Loyalty If Ever Men And Women Are Their Simplest, Sincerest Selves, It Is When Suffering Softens The One, And Sympathy Strengthens The Other.
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...the Love, Respect, And Confidence Of My Children Was The Sweetest Reward I Could Receive For My Efforts To Be The Woman I Would Have Them Copy.
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You Have A Good Many Little Gifts And Virtues, But There Is No Need Of Parading Them, For Conceit Spoils The Finest Genius. There Is Not Much Danger That Real Talent Or Goodness Will Be Overlooked Long, And The Great Charm Of All Power Is Modesty.
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Meg's High-heeled Slippers Were Dreadfully Tight, And Hurt Her, Though She Would Not Own It; And Jo's Nineteen Hair-pins All Seemed Stuck Straight Into Her Head, Which Was Not Exactly Comfortable; But, Dear Me, Let Us Be Elegant Or Die.
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Salt Is Like Good-humor, And Nearly Every Thing Is Better For A Pinch Of It.
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I've Learned To Check The Hasty Words That Rise To My Lips, And When I Feel That They Mean To Break Out Against My Will, I Just Go Away For A Minute, And Give Myself A Little Shake For Being So Weak And Wicked.
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Giving
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I'd Rather Take Coffee Than Compliments Just Now.
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Little Women
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Don't Shut Yourself Up In A Band Box Because You Are A Woman, But Understand What Is Going On, And Educate Yourself To Take Part In The World's Work, For It All Affects You And Yours.
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Art
Work
Good Books, Like Good Friends, Are Few And Chosen; The More Select, The More Enjoyable.
Book
Writing
Good Friend
…in Silence Learned The Sweet Solace Which Affection Administers To Sorrow.
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Sorrow
Power Is A Dangerous Thing. Be Careful That You Don't Abuse It Or Let It Make A Tyrant Of You.
Power
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Abuse
I Like Adventures, And I’m Going To Find Some.
Adventure
Fame Is A Very Good Thing To Have In The House, But Cash Is More Convenient.
Money
House
Cash
When I Had The Youth I Had No Money, Now I Have The Money I Have No Time, And When I Get The Time, If I Ever Do, I Shall Have No Health To Enjoy Life.
Enjoy Life
Youth
No Money
Better Lose Your Life Than Your Soul.
Soul
Your Soul
Loses
Fathers And Mothers Are Too Absorbed In Business And Housekeeping To Study Their Children, And Cherish That Sweet And Natural Confidence Which Is A Child's Surest Safeguard, And A Parent's Subtlest Power.
Mother
Sweet
Children
...and Clung More Closely To The Dear Human Love, From Which Our Father Never Means Us To Be Weaned, But Through Which He Draws Us Closer To Himself.
Father
Mean
Dear
I Don't Think It's Fair For Some Girls To Have Plenty Of Pretty Things, And Other Girls Nothing At All.
Girl
Thinking
Pretty Things
...for Love Casts Out Fear, And Gratitude Can Conquer Pride.
Gratitude
Pride
Conquer
I Am Not Afraid Of Storms For I Am Learning How To Sail My Ship.
Inspirational
Confidence
Wisdom
The Rooms Were Very Still While The Pages Were Softly Turned And The Winter Sunshine Crept In To Touch The Bright Heads And Serious Faces With A Christmas Greeting.
Christmas
Sunshine
Winter
Many Argue; Not Many Converse.
Respect
Arguing
Converses
The Scar Will Remain, But It Is Better For A Man To Lose Both Arms Than His Soul; And These Hard Years, Instead Of Being Lost, May Be Made The Most Precious Of Your Lives, If They Teach You To Rule Yourselves.
Men
Years
Soul
Wild Roses Are Fairest, And Nature A Better Gardener Than Art.
Art
Nature
Flower
To Me, Love Isn't All. I Must Look Up, Not Down, Trust And Honor With My Whole Heart, And Find Strenght And Integrity To Lean On
Integrity
Heart
Strenght
Fame Is A Pearl Many Dive For And Only A Few Bring Up. Even When They Do, It Is Not Perfect, And They Sigh For More, And Lose Better Things In Struggling For Them.
Struggle
Perfect
Pearls
So She Enjoyed Herself Heartily, And Found, What Isn't Always The Case, That Her Granted Wish Was All She Had Hoped.
Wish
Granted
Found
If People Really Want To Go, And Really Try All Their Lives, I Think They Will Get In; For I Don't Believe There Are Any Locks On That Door, Or Any Guards At The Gate. I Always Imagine It Is As It Is In The Picture, Where The Shining Ones Stretch Out Their Hands To Welcome Poor Christian As He Comes Up From The River.
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Believe
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Liberty Is A Better Husband Than Love To Many Of Us.
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My Father Taught In The Wise Way Which Unfolds What Lies In The Child
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Children
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Persuasive Influences Are Better Than Any Amount Of Moralizing.
Influence
Persuasive
Moralizing
A Time Will Come When You Will Find That In Gaining A Brief Joy You Have Lost Your Peace Forever.
Forever
Joy
Lost
The Power Of Finding Beauty In The Humblest Things Makes Home Happy And Life Lovely.
Happiness
Happy
Beauty
It’s Amazing How Lovely Common Things Become, If One Only Knows How To Look At Them.
Lovely
Looks
Common
Ridicule Is Often Harder To Bear Than Self-denial.
Patience
Self
Denial
It's Lovely To See People So Happy.
People
Lovely
Where The Heart Is The Mind Works Best.
Heart
Mind
I Am Angry Nearly Every Day Of My Life, But I Have Learned Not To Show It; And I Still Try To Hope Not To Feel It, Though It May Take Me Another Forty Years To Do It.
Anger
Years
Trying
I Want To Do Something Splendid… Something Heroic Or Wonderful That Won’t Be Forgotten After I’m Dead… I Think I Shall Write Books.
Book
Writing
Thinking
Books Have Been My Greatest Comfort, Castle-building A Never-failing Delight, And Scribbling A Very Profitable Amusement.
Book
Comfort
Castles
There Was A Good Deal Of Laughing And Kissing And Explaining, In The Simple, Loving Fashion Which Makes These Home-festivals So Pleasant At The Time, So Sweet To Remember Long Afterward, And Then All Fell To Work.
Fashion
Sweet
Home
She Had A Womanly Instinct That Clothes Possess An Influence More Powerful Over Many Than The Worth Of Character Or The Magic Of Manners.
Powerful
Character
Clothes
Your Father, Jo. He Never Loses Patience, Never Doubts Or Complains, But Always Hopes, And Works And Waits So Cheerfully That One Is Ashamed To Do Otherwise Before Him.
Father
Waiting
Doubt
...freedom Being The Sauce Best Beloved By The Boyish Soul.
Soul
Sauce
Beloved
Such Hours Are Beautiful To Live, But Very Hard To Describe.
Beautiful
Hours
Hard
I Think Immortality Is The Passing Of A Soul Through Many Lives Or Experiences, And Such As Are Truly Lived, Used And Learned, Help On To The Next, Each Growing Richer, Happier And Higher, Carrying With It Only The Real Memories Of What Has Gone Before.
Death
Memories
Real
Her Beauty Satisfied [his] Artistic Eye, Her Peculiarities Piqued His Curiosity, Her Vivacity Lightened His Ennui, And Her Character Interested Him By The Unconscious Hints It Gave Of Power, Pride And Passion. So Entirely Natural And Unconventional Was She That He Soon Found Himself On A Familiar Footing, Asking All Manner Of Unusual Questions, And Receiving Rather Piquant Replies.
Character
Eye
Passion
I Don't Think Secrets Agree With Me, I Feel Rumpled Up In Mind Since You Told Me That.
Thinking
Secret
Mind
O Vanity, Mislead No More!
Lying
Vanity
Deceit
I Believe That It Is As Much A Right And Duty For Women To Do Something With Their Lives As For Men And We Are Not Going To Be Satisfied With Such Frivolous Parts As You Give Us.
Strong Women
Courage
Believe
…for No Matter How Lost And Soiled And Worn-out Wandering Sons May Be, Mothers Can Forgive And Forget Every Thing As They Fold Them Into Their Fostering Arms. Happy The Son Whose Faith In His Mother Remains Unchanged, And Who, Through All His Wanderings, Has Kept Some Filial Token To Repay Her Brave And Tender Love.
Mother
Son
Forgive And Forget
When Jo's Conservative Sister Meg Says She Must Turn Up Her Hair Now That She Is A "young Lady," Jo Shouts, "i'm Not! And If Turning Up My Hair Makes Me One, I'll Wear It In Two Tails Till I'm Twenty.... I Hate To Think I've Got To Grow Up, And Be Miss March, And Wear Long Gowns, And Look As Prim As A China Aster! It's Bad Enough To Be A Girl Anyway, When I Like Boys' Games And Work And Manners! I Can't Get Over My Disappointment In Not Being A Boy; And It's Worse Than Ever Now, For I'm Dying To Go And Fight With Papa, And I Can Only Stay At Home And Knit, Like A Poky Old Woman.
Girl
Disappointment
Growing Up
…to The Inspiration Of Necessity, We Owe Half The Wise, Beautiful, And Useful Blessings Of The World.
Beautiful
Wise
Inspiration
I'm Afraid I Couldn't Like Him Without A Spice Of Human Naughtiness.
Spices
Humans
I Was Thinking What A Curious Thing Love Is; Only A Sentiment, And Yet It Has Power To Make Fools Of Men And Slaves Of Women.
Love
Men
Thinking
You Have Grown Abominably Lazy, And You Like Gossip, And Waste Time On Frivolous Things, You Are Contented To Be Petted And Admired By Silly People, Instead Of Being Loved And Respected By Wise Ones.
Wise
Silly
People
Conceit Spoils The Finest Genius.
Life
Conceited
Genius
Work Is Always My Salvation And I Will Celebrate It.
Work
Celebrate
Salvation
The Clocks Were Striking Midnight And The Rooms Were Very Still As A Figure Glided Quietly From Bed To Bed, Smoothing A Coverlid Here, Settling A Pillow There, And Pausing To Look Long And Tenderly At Each Unconscious Face, To Kiss Each With Lips That Mutely Blessed, And To Pray The Fervent Prayers Which Only Mothers Utter.
Mother
Prayer
Blessed
Books Are Always Good Company If You Have The Right Sort.
Book
Good Company
Company
I Asked For Bread, And I Got A Stone In The Shape Of A Pedestal.
Women
Pedestal
Shapes
Jo's Face Was A Study Next Day, For The Secret Rather Weighed Upon Her, And She Found It Hard Not To Look Mysterious And Important. Meg Observed It, But Did Not Troubled Herself To Make Inquiries, For She Had Learned That The Best Way To Manage Jo Was By The Law Of Contraries, So She Felt Sure Of Being Told Everything If She Did Not Ask.
Law
Next Day
Secret
Nothing Remained But Loneliness And Grief.
Loneliness
Grief
It Was Fortunate That Tea Was At Hand, To Produce A Lull And Provide Refreshment,— For They Would Have Been Hoarse And Faint If They Had Gone On Much Longer.
Hands
Tea
Produce
You Don’t Need Scores Of Suitors. You Need Only One… If He’s The Right One.
Needs
Suitors
Little Women
…jo Loved A Few Persons Very Dearly And Dreaded To Have Their Affection Lost Or Lessened In Any Way.
Way
Affection
Lost
…tomorrow Was Her Birthday, And She Was Thinking How Fast The Years Went By, How Old She Was Getting, And How Little She Seemed To Have Accomplished. Almost Twenty-five And Nothing To Show For It.
Thinking
Years
Twenties
But Many Of The Bravest Never Are Known, And Get No Praise. That Does Not Lessen Their Beauty.
Doe
Praise
Known
My Definition (of A Philosopher) Is Of A Man Up In A Balloon, With His Family And Friends Holding The Ropes Which Confine Him To Earth And Trying To Haul Him Down.
Philosophy
Men
Family And Friends
Now And Then Genius Carries All Before It, But Not Often. We Have To Climb Slowly, With Many Slips And Falls.
Fall
Genius
Now And Then
I Do Like Men Who Come Out Frankly And Own That They Are Not Gods.
Men
The Female Population Exceeds The Male, You Know, Especially In New England, Which Accounts For The High State Of Culture We Are In, Perhaps.
Males
Population
Female
You Say Often You Wish A Library; Here I Gif You One; For Between These Two Lids (he Meant Covers) Is Many Books In One. Read Him Well, And He Will Help You Much; For The Study Of Character In This Book Will Help You To Read It In The World, And Paint It With Your Pen.
Book
Character
Two
Don't Mind Me. I'm As Happy As A Cricket Here.
Mind
Cricket
Love Is A Great Beautifier.
Love
Life
Beauty
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